Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

Triana

(22,666 posts)
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:58 PM Jun 2014

7 Pieces of Timeless Wisdom From Maya Angelou



1. Not everyone can pull themselves up by the bootstraps:

The powerful say, "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps." But they don't really believe that those living on denuded reservations, or on strip-mined hills, or in ghettos that are destinations for drugs from Colombia and Iraq, can somehow pull themselves up. What they're really saying is, "If you can, do, but if you can't, forget it." It's the most pernicious of all acts of segregation, because it is so subtle.

2. Life isn't about material things:

Somehow, we have come to the erroneous belief that we are all but flesh, blood, and bones, and that's all. So we direct our values to material things. We become what writer Beah Richards calls "exiled to things": If we have three cars rather than two, we'll live a little longer. If we have four more titles, we'll live longer still. And, especially, if we have more money than the next guy, we'll live longer than he. It's so sad. There is something more—the spirit, or the soul.

3. It doesn't matter what a woman is wearing:

I married a man once because of something he said. We were in England, and somebody said that women should always expect to be raped if they wore very short pants and low decolletage and acted "fast." So this man, whom I knew slightly, said, "If a woman has no panties on and sits with her legs wide open, no man has the right to assault her. When a guy tells me, 'I couldn't resist because she did sit in such a provocative way,' all I want to know is if four of her brothers were standing there with baseball bats, would they have resisted?"


THE REST:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/maya-angelou-death-words-of-wisdom
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
7 Pieces of Timeless Wisdom From Maya Angelou (Original Post) Triana Jun 2014 OP
She sure had command of words, we are lucky to have heard her speak. Thinkingabout Jun 2014 #1
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»7 Pieces of Timeless Wisd...